Julia Farlow, age 15, of Lowell, Mass., for her question:
WHO WAS HADRIAN?
Hadrian was emperor of Rome from A.D. 117 to 138. He was the ruler who declared an end to the expansion of the empire and drew back to the limits established by Augustus. One of the most cultured of the emperors, Hadrian was a patron of virtually all the arts.
Born in the year 76 in either Italiaca near Seville, Spain, or in Rome, Hadrian at the age of 9 became a ward of the future emperor Trajan. He was educated in Rome and held various civil and military posts until Trajan became emperor in 98. He then served with distinction on the Danube frontier and was made consul several times.
As archon, or chief magistrate, in ancient Athens in 112, Hadrian immersed himself in Greek culture, for which he demonstrated an abiding attachment.
When Trajan died, Hadrian was proclaimed emperor by the army and his appointment was then ratified by the Roman Senate.
Because the Roman Empire at the time was repeatedly threatened by the revolts of subject peoples and by barbarian invasions, Hadrian recognized the need for consolidation. He resolved to abandon the outlying provinces and establish defense fortifications, including the famous Hadrian's Wall, that historically marked the end of Roman territorial expansion.
In Rome, Hadrian strengthened his position by liberalism toward the people, by support of poor children and by a considerate attitude toward the Senate. In several extended tours, he visited nearly every Roman province, putting local political, military and economic affairs in order and strengthening loyalty to Rome.
A highly cultured man, Hadrian surrounded himself with poets, philosophers and scholars. He wrote verse and prose in Latin and Greek with notable skill. Very interested in architecture, he erected in Rome such magnificent buildings as the Athenaeum and the Temple of Venus and Roma. He also rebuilt the Pantheon. Hadrian also built a massive mausoleum in Rome that has been regarded an architectural masterpiece. The emperor also built many other fine buildings in Rome and Athens.
Hadrian's villa was actually an entire town, with splendid buildings recalling the best he had seen in his travels and some of the finest statuary of ancient times.
In 134 35 Hadrian revisited Judea, where he put down a lengthy insurrection at a reported cost of half a million lives.
The last years of Hadrian's life were divided between Rome and his palatial villa at Tibur, which is modern Tivoli.
Hadrian died at Baiae, which is modern Baia, on July 10, 138. He was succeeded as emperor by Antonious Pius.